BoardGameArchiveSmall World Strategy: Race Selection, Decline & Efficient Conquest
Small World strategy for Race/Power valuation, conquest efficiency, targeting, defense, decline timing, turn-track awareness and coin production.
Editorial analysis: Small World rewards coin production per token. A civilization that occupies many regions inefficiently can be worse than a compact Race
Editorial analysis: Small World rewards coin production per token. A civilization that occupies many regions inefficiently can be worse than a compact Race/Power combination earning bonuses every turn.
Key takeaway
Small World strategy for Race/Power valuation, conquest efficiency, targeting, defense, decline timing, turn-track awareness and coin production.
About this guide
Original strategy explanations, supporting links and source notes are preserved in the sections below.
Topics covered
Evaluate the Race and Power as one package
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Pay coins for a deeper combination only when it repays quickly
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Attack the cheapest regions that score your bonuses
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Defend only what matters
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Evaluate the Race and Power as one package
A strong Power can be mediocre on a Race with too few tokens or the wrong scoring incentives. Count expected regions, conquest discounts and bonus coins together.
Pay coins for a deeper combination only when it repays quickly
Skipping combinations costs victory coins. Spend those coins only when the chosen package is likely to earn the difference back within a few turns.
Attack the cheapest regions that score your bonuses
Eliminating a heavily fortified rival region feels satisfying but may consume too many tokens. Prefer low-cost conquests that increase both territory count and Race/Power income.
Defend only what matters
Every token left for defense is one token not expanding. Reinforce regions tied to a recurring bonus, a bottleneck or an expensive reconquest; allow low-value edges to remain soft.
Decline before the civilization becomes dead weight
A race should decline when another active turn is likely to score less than the long-term value of starting a fresh race one turn later. Waiting until the race is completely broken is usually too late.
Turn count determines late-game decline value
Near the end, declining may sacrifice too much immediate income because there are not enough turns left for the new race to repay the lost turn. Count remaining turns before switching.